Climb Inside a Poem

Reading and Writing Poetry Across the Year

Nurture a love of poetry in children with Climb Inside a Poem. In this ready-to-go resource, Georgia and Lester demonstrate how reading and writing poetry can support and extend young children's language and literacy development. Through an anthology of original children's poems and related lessons, Georgia and Lester describe how to weave poetry into the fabric of a school day by reading a variety of poems for a variety of purposes.

Bundle

In Stock

List Price: $78.75

Web/School Price:
$63.00

Quantity

QTY

Share This Resource

Full Description

Children are natural poets. They speak poetry all day long. They say wonderful poetic gems that surprise and delight us and help us look at the world in a new way. In Climb Inside a Poem: Reading and Writing Poetry Across the Year, Georgia Heard and Lester Laminack tap into this natural inclination and demonstrate how reading and writing poetry can also support and extend young children's language and literacy development. Through an anthology of original children's poems and related lessons, Georgia and Lester describe how to weave poetry into the fabric of a school day by reading a variety of poems for a variety of purposes. Building on these experiences, children then engage in a formal unit of study on writing poetry.

Climb Inside a Poem has three components.

The poetry anthology, Climb Inside a Poem: Original Poems for Children, uses the writings of contemporary children’s poets, whimsical illustrations, and an expansive big book format (14”x18”) to create a 36-page poetry playground.

Lessons for Climb Inside a Poem provides a five-day sequence of lessons for each poem in the anthology. Through repeated readings and by accessing the poems from multiple perspectives, these lessons model how poetry can be used to support basic concepts in print, develop word awareness, expand reading and writing fluency, and help children write with feeling and voice.

Reading and Writing Poetry Across the Year takes a broad view of poetry and considers how poems can be used to reinforce and extend a literacy curriculum. Organized into three separate sections, the minilessons in this guide offer tips for outfitting and organizing classrooms where poetry can flourish; highlight a variety of reading strategies that immerse children in the words and music of poetry; and present a complete unit of study for writing poetry.

Contents

Big Book of Poems Contents
Instruction in Climb Inside a Poem is organized around 29 poems by acclaimed children’s authors. (listed in order of appearance)

Where Do I Find Poetry? by Georgia Heard

Sky Wish by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Happy Toes by Pat Mora

Dear Friend in the Desert by Kristine O’Connell George

Tooth Truth by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Quack, Quack by Pat Mora

Why? Why? Why? by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Who’s Coming to Tea? by Jane Yolen

Making Soup by Marilyn Singer

How I Hopscotch by Kristine O’Connell George

When I Ride My Bike by Patricia Hubbell

School Bus Lady by J. Patrick Lewis

Poem for My Friend by Patricia Hubbell

Best Friend by Marilyn Singer

Birthday Candles by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Song for My Swing by Patricia Hubbell

The Stray Dog by Alice Schertle

Puppy Love by Jane Yolen

Just Like Grandpa by Alice Schertle

Happy Teeth by J. Patrick Lewis

The Cedar Tree by Joseph Bruchac

Laundromat by X. J. Kennedy

Emma by Janet Wong

Spring Riddles by Beverly McLoughland

Sun and Moon: A Poem for Two Voices by Bobbi Katz

Singing Down the Sun by Marilyn Singer

Hey, Crow! by Deborah Chandra

Hidden Treasure by Bobbi Katz

Night Story by Beverly McLoughland

Lesson Book Contents

In this book of lessons, you'll find suggestions for ways to work with every poem in the big book for five to ten minutes per day over the course of one week.

On Mondays, the activity ideas are meant to help introduce the poem to children;

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the activity ideas are meant to support children in exploring the poem in more depth;

On Thursdays, the activities help children get to know the poet and the poet's body of work; and

On Fridays, the activities are designed to help children focus on the poet's crafting moves.

Each lesson also provides their respective poem in a reproducible format and includes a "Responding to the Poem" page with space to share thoughts about the poem.

PLUS: At the end of the lesson book, in the "Poet Profiles" section you'll find more about the featured poets, including photographs, biographical information, and some "poet-to-poet" advice they offer us for our young poets.

Reading and Writing Poetry Across the Year Contents
The guide Reading and Writing Poetry Across the Year takes a broad view of poetry and considers how poems can be used to reinforce and extend a literacy curriculum. Organized into three separate sections, the minilessons in this guide:

offer tips for outfitting and organizing classrooms where poetry can flourish,

highlight a variety of reading strategies that immerse children in the words and music of poetry,